puppy eating everything!

[laila]

hi, I am new to this board, but have been reading it for a while and learning a lot from it.We have a 7 month old rottweiler and ever since we got him, he has been eating everything in sight.(It is mostly outside he picks up things) Ever since we brought him home at 7 weeks old, he has been eating everything from grass,dirt,rocks,bark,leaves... you name it.We thought first it was normal puppy chewing stage, but now it is really becoming a big problem. We have him always on a leash when we take him outside, and have told him with a firm no to leave things. We have used bitter apple,tabasco sauce,vinegar, nothing seems to help. Its like he doesn,t even know he is doing it.I am so afraid he will get something stuck one of these days, so far we have been lucky that he has been able to throw it up. So what shall we do? Please, any suggestion would really help us.

[Echowe]

Spencer is 2 1/2 years old and he still eats rocks, grass, dirt, barks, plastic.... He is healthy and eats his food well. He gets plenty of chew toys! Someone mention my dog might be lack certain mineral therefore eats rocks.... His annual is coming up and I plan to do blood work on him. I also have a one year old female 'pup'. Together, these two are partners in crime! The main thing for me is to remove anything that can cause harm to them. They always find new things and I just have to be very careful.

[ February 16, 2001: Message edited by: Echowe ]

[LisaMD]

This behavior is normal with pups. Mine is 4 1/2 mo. and he does this. It could be a number of reasons why, but without knowing exactly why there is nothing we can do except train, train, train and watch to make sure he doesn't eat something bad for him.

LisaMD

[badbluehope]

you really have to train your puppy to not chew what you don't give her. it is not easy but you have to do it and you have to be consistent. our puppy is 6 months old and she will chew anything and everything if we let her. when we are not watching her, she is in an isolated "puppy-proof environment and we are with her, if she puts ANYTHING in her mouth that i did not give her PERMISSION to put in her mouth. i tell her "don't touch" which is the command we taught her. she stops immediately and when she doesn't, she gets a correction. you can do it.

[laila]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I just have to be patient.

[Judy Chrusch]

laila, My pup will be 5 months in about a week. He picks everything up too but when we're outside or on our walks if he approaches things he shouldn't have I say,"Leave It", when he actually has somehting in his mouth that's unexceptable we say," Out." Now while doing this you MUST always have treats available. When he listens to your commands, ALWAYS praise and make a big deal. They think it's great and will be more likely to please. Czar has been tough with these two commands especially if he has something that he wants but can't have so this is a constant everyday thing we work on and yes it takes LOTS of patience! This is what works for us so I hope it helps. The important thing is that you chose a word or words that work for you and use them consistantly. Everyone has certain words they like and that's fine as long as you use them over and over and keep them the same. Many people use the DOWN command when you want them to lay down, we've always used, DROP because to me down means when you want them not to jump up, now grant you, you can also use OFF for when they jump up, never the less, use what works for you and what is comfortable for you. Hope this helps.

Judy